


I'll Follow You Down

by xxx_Ari_xxx



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Come On A Journey With Me., Creepypasta, Has no eyes but always watches, Horror, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I love these characters and just had to, I seriously did, Marble Hornets - Freeform, Multi, Occult, POV Second Person, Polyamory I guess?, Proxies, Proxy, Rating May Change, Romance, Slow To Update, Some sillyness involved...., This is a Reader x Hoodie x Masky story', What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-06
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-10 14:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxx_Ari_xxx/pseuds/xxx_Ari_xxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is (insert first and last name) and you are running from the past. You're in a new town, with new people, and amazingly, new friends. But everything can't always be perfect., and soon enough, the horror that's hidden in this town begins to close in on you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Don't Believe In Occult

There is nowhere to run, and there is no way you can escape. He has you cornered, and you’re too deep in the woods for any screams to be heard. What the hell made you think that you were strong enough, smart enough, or even brave enough to take him on? You’re barely twenty-two, and the only time that you’ve ever been able to get away is with the help of the proxies or your master. Even Masky, Hoodie and Slenderman can’t beat him when they’re fighting together.   
  
There is no way that you are going to survive this. Zalgo is going to kill you.   
  
~0~   
  
The first thing that seemed to pop into your mind was the day that this all started, the same day that you got involved in all of this fucking madness. It was the day that you moved to (Insert State here), in a small town with one of the biggest nature reserves you had ever seen. It was at least three times as big as the actual town was, and it was impossible to navigate, which is one of the reasons that no one ever went in. The other reason? A rather stupid urban myth about a creature called Slenderman and his “supernatural household of monsters.” You, of course, do not believe in such things, and never have. You never believed in Santa, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny, and there is no way in hell that you would believe that a household of supernatural creatures lived in a cute little house in the freaking forest with a white picket fence.   
  
“(Insert Name Here)! Hurry up, or you’ll have to walk!” You hear your sister Angelica holler up the stairs. You took one last look in the mirror, hoping that this school would be different. You were hoping, praying, that no one would comment on your tightly laced combat boots or your dark (Favorite Color) ruffled skirt that you wore over torn up tights. You picked up your messenger bag and ran down the stairs just as Angelica was walking out the door.   
  
“Angie! Wait up, please!” You got to the car just as she closed the driver’s side door. You slip in and slam the door as she tears away from the curb, speeding per usual. At this rate, you would have been safer walking, but at least you know you won’t be late.   
  
There’s one point where you reach town and Angie has to stop at a traffic light. You look out the window and hope that your breakfast won’t come back up. You see something hanging on the light post, but you can’t quite make it out. It’s close enough that you reach out the window and pull it off the post just as your sister tears off down the street. You shove the paper into your bag, planning to look at it when your life wasn’t in danger.   
  
Once your sibling pulls the car into the parking spot, you scramble to get out. You were never, not in a million years, catching a ride with her in the morning. This of course meant that you’d be in the car with her tomorrow morning again. After all, the bus didn’t stop on your road, and it was a mile walk. You really had no choice in the matter.   
  
“Alright, (Name), here’s a twenty, since you haven't transferred banks yet, enjoy the school. Don’t tell Ben that I drive like that, okay, and I swear I won't copy your work when you're sleeping.” You smile and tuck the twenty in your wallet, and reach for the schedule in your front pocket. Well, being a roommate and a sister had its perks.   
  
“Okay, Angie, but if we crash, no amount of bribery will keep me quiet.” You tug on your hair, messing with the (Hair Color/ Type) strands. You head toward the front gate, the silent prayer repeating in the back of your mind. As soon as you set foot on campus, you have people left and right watching you, and you can feel the bright red flush creeping up your neck. Didn’t anyone have anything more important to do then to just stare at you? The answer was an obvious and blinding no once you heard the giggles approaching you from behind.   
  
“Hey, new girl.” You ignore the obviously preppy voice and continue to walk. “Hey, wait up! I just want to ask you something!” You sigh silently and stop, turning around to face a rather pretty girl with heavy black hair and dark sunglasses. Her lips were painted black, as was most of her clothing.  She was taller than you by at least half a foot, and defiantly looked like she could hand you your ass on a silver platter. You were beginning to be very happy that you hadn’t ignored her, or you might have been road kill already. “Hey! Wow, you walk so fast! I’ve been trying to catch up with you since the parking lot.”   
  
“Oh… I’m sorry. I tend to ignore people.” You look down at your boots and try to control the impulse to tell her that you love the torn hem on her shorts.   
  
“Oh, it's fine. I live with three gu… brothers. I’m used to running to get to the bathroom or to dinner first. They can’t keep up anymore.” She pauses for a moment, as if she couldn’t quite recall why she stopped you. “I’m Jane, by the way. Jane Manning. I just wanted to ask you if you needed help finding your way around.”   
  
“Well, I’m (Full Name), and sure, I don’t really know where I’m going.” You shrug and pull your schedule out. You hand it to Jane with a smile, albeit a bit hesitant. She flips through it and is just about to speak when three guys walk up to you two, one immediately turning to Jane with annoyance.   
  
“Jane! Control the asshole, would you? I'm about to have an ocd meltdown.” His hands fiddle with the draw strings on his jacket, trying to even the lengths out. His hood is up, the opening scrunched. You can’t see his face, just little pieces of black hair straying out from under his yellow hood. He wore black gloves and a simple pair of blue jeans. His jacket was so bright that you didn’t understand how you had missed him in the first place.   
  
As for the other two, they stuck out just as sorely. One had a high collared orange jacket, and his hair was a beautiful auburn. What really struck you about him were his bright blue eyes. You could not recall ever seeing such bright blue eyes before, and you find it hard to look away from them. When you did pull your eyes away, it was to look at the tallest of the three boys. You had mixed feelings as you looked at him, the primary of them being a mixture of pity and… not necessarily horror, but something quite close. You had to suppress the gasp that threatened to escape your lips.   
  
All you could see of his face was his right eye and his big smile. Most of his face was wrapped up in bandages, and it startled you. He had the hood of his white jacket up, and it all but covered his face. It could not, however, cover the long streams of black hair that trailed over the front of his shoulders. You swore that his hair was longer than yours, at least*. He’s currently laughing, so you can’t tell the color of his eyes.   
  
You force yourself to look back at Jane, and just in time, it appeared, as the young man next to her flipped his hood back. This time, though, you failed to suppress your gasp. The wisps of black hair that you had seen before turned out to be thick curls, and the boy’s face was almost identical to that of the one wearing the orange jacket. The only difference that you can spot is the eyes. His are the same green as the grass you are standing on, and they lock onto yours after you gasp. You can feel the flush from earlier back and in full heat across your face. You lower your eyes to Jane’s and your conflicting emotions must have been obvious on your face, because Jane winced slightly.   
  
“Guys! You’re gonna scare (Name). Jeff, if you pull off Brian’s hood one more time, I swear that burn isn’t gonna be your only malfunction! Brian, stop treating me like I'm his mom. You and Tim can take Jeff on together, just like you do everything else.” Jane removed herself from the equation swiftly, leaving Brian at Tim’s side. (At least you think that Tim is the one with the orange jacket.) They look at each other for a moment and then nod at one another. Jeff sees this transaction and flinches.   
  
“Fuck.” He took off toward campus, leaving you with Jane, Brian, and Tim. The two guys laughed and turned to you. You can’t find it in you to look at their eyes, mostly out of your normal shyness, but also out of embarrassment.   
  
“(Name), these are my brothers, Tim and Brian. According to your schedule, you have the same courses as Brian, Tim, and I today. Why don’t you just hang with us for the day? We grew up around the area, so we can help you out.” Jane smiles at you and your eyes flash the Brian and Tim. Tim smiled full on for you, while Brian looked down as he smiled.   
  
You have just decided that you might like this new town... but only if you can keep the last one out of your mind.


	2. Concerned Siblings and Perscription Drugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go for a little, unplanned walk at the end of your day...

You open the door slowly and smile at Angie, who is (as usual) simultaneously watching the news and doing her school work. It used to surprise you that your sister got anything done, but now you just wish you had the same abilities. You turn and wave out the door as Jane and the others take off down the street, Jane driving even more psychotically then Angie. You really needed to find someone in this town that drove the actual speed limit. As you close the front door, Angie sets her books aside and glares up at you.   
  
"What?" You look down at her with concern in your eyes. You've never had your older sibling look so angry at you before, and it's kind of scary.   
  
"The Mannings? Are you fucking kidding me, (name)? All of them are psychos. No one even knows where the hell they live, and you want to hang out with them? Do you want to die?" Angie jumps to her feet and uses her hands dramatically. She's so worked up that you can see her twitching slightly, and she almost seems unsteady.   
  
"Angie… calm down. They were just… I like them. Jane is down to earth and cool, and Tim and Brian make me smile. I don't see why you're so freaked out." You set your bag down on the coffee table as the two of you talk. You feel slightly irritated at her accusations, but you're more curious than angry. The way she's acting might explain why no one else would talk to you all day, even when you were outside of class.   
  
"Everyone says they live in the freaking forest, (name), and that they are crazy. I actually believe it, because have you seen Jeff? Seriously? There's no way that he wears those due to a freaking 'accident'!" You want to roll your eyes, but you know that that will just make her even more livid.   
  
"Angie. You sound ridiculous, and so does everyone else. Jeff really was in an acid—hey, isn't Ben related to them? Like their older brother?" You pick up your bag as she sputters, trying to think of how to defend her boyfriend. You chuckle as you walk further into the house and into your room when you hear Angie yell after you.   
  
"Fine! But if you ever go missing, I'm calling the police and pointing fingers at the Mannings!" You shut the door behind you with a slight sigh, but it's a somewhat happy sigh. You had thought that Angie might have actually been angry, but she was just being her normal, neurotic self.   
  
You drop your bag on the (color) plaid comforter of your bed and collapse into your chair. You feel tired, but it's more from doing so much walking around. The campus of your new college is ridiculously big, and it's even bigger when you know the Mannings. They seemed to know what was in every room, around every corner. It was actually pretty cool. You went through your entire first day without getting lost, which was a miracle within itself. You smile slightly as you think about your new friends.   
  
None of them were quite what they seemed at first sight. Jane, who you thought was going to grind your face into the floor, was actually very relaxed and down to earth. She was on the quiet side, but overall pretty cool. Then there was Jeff. After you got past the fact that you could only see his eyes and the bottom section of his very white face, he seemed nice. He was a bit... odd, in some way that you couldn't quite grasp. It did irk you when he harassed Brian, though.   
  
You blush slightly as you think about Brian and Tim. The two of them seemed to be two sides to the same coin, until it came to basic personality. While Tim was slightly aggressive and almost hostile, Brian was sweet and soft-spoken. The moment that Brian had warmed up to you, so had Tim. The two of them had barely left your side after the first class ended. They had asked you a lot of questions, most of them about your favorite things and where you had moved from. They seemed surprised with how far you moved.   
  
There had been one question and a conversation that had followed that had really puzzled you. They had asked where you lived now, and when you told them how close you lived to the forest, they had exchanged slight glances.   
  
\------------   
  
"Aren't you worried, living so close to the forest?" Tim took a hit off the cigarette in his hand. Both of them watch your face, although Tim is much more subtle about it than Brian.   
  
You snort and roll your eyes, "Are you kidding me? I don't believe in anything occult. I don't think that Slenderman is going to magically appear and rip me from my bed." You looked at both Tim and Brian, noticing their brief glances at each other. You shook your head, positive that it was just because they did believe the stories. It's not like there actually was a Slenderman.   
  
\--------------   
  
You lean over and grab your bag, dumping the books out onto your desk. As you do so, a crumpled piece of paper falls out with it. Puzzled, you pick it up and uncrumpled it. You straighten it the best you can before examining it. As you finally take in what it is, you laugh. It's a freaking note, like one of the ones that people said Slenderman left everywhere. Although the ink is slightly faded, you can still tell what it says; "let's play hide and seek. You can hide first." The words look as if a child had scribbled them out over the 'x's and 'o's. You crumple it back up and toss it in the trash before walking to your dresser. You pick up a bottle of pills, the stabilizers that you've been taking for years, and swallow two, then settle down to do your work.   
  
Even though you've transferred three weeks into the semester, your professors are expecting you to complete all the work that you've missed. You don't really mind, in fact you understand, but nonetheless you silently curse them as you start in on six classes worth of makeup work.    
  
~0~   
  
After about an hour of working, you begin to nod off. One second you're looking at your work, the next you find yourself standing in a forest. A forest that looks remarkably similar to the one behind your house. You look around, believing that you've entered a dream. You take a step forward and trip over a root, hit the ground. The crunch of leaves and the sharp pain in your shoulder tell you that this is not, in fact, a dream.   
  
You stand back up, now shaking uncontrollably as you look toward the light above your head. How did you get here? What time was it? How far from your house are you? You check your pockets for your phone, but you come up empty-handed. You spin in a large circle, trying to find the way back to your house. Instead, you see a flash of white up high in the tree. You turn back to it quickly, but there's nothing there.   
  
You turn in the opposite direction and take off running, your bare feet crushing the leaves and twigs beneath them. After a few minutes of aimless running, you begin to notice that the trees are thinning out, and you realize you've run all the way home.   
  
A scary thought crosses your mind as you look first at your now visible house, and then once behind you; is it possible that your meds have stopped working?   
  
You've never had a blackout or an episode when you've taken them, but this certainly feels like one. Sleepwalking all the way into the middle of the forest in broad daylight and seeing spots?   
  
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to move here.


	3. Between Insanity and Did I Take My Meds Today?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since you came to this town, your meds don't really seem to be helping... Especially when you think that you're seeing Slenderman. But that's crazy... right?

You end up falling back to sleep, but when you wake up you feel as if you were up all night. Your head is pounding, and there's a noise in your head that reminded you of radio static. It slowly fades away as you continue to get ready, but your headache remains. You go through your daily routine, including taking your various medications. Four pills, two white ovals, one blue circle, and a bright red capsule.  
  
  
"(Name)! Jane is here!" You think for a moment before remembering that she was giving you a ride to school. You grab your shoes, pick your bag up, and run down the stairs. Jane is standing in the entryway to the house, and your sister is glaring her down. You stop on the stairs and watch as Jane just tilts her head to the side. From your stance, you can see her eyes under the lens, and you wish your meds would kick in. You swear that her eyes are sparkling black…  
  
  
"Hey, Jane. Where are the guys?" You skip down the stairs, taking them two at a time. You stop still when you notice Jane's smile. It sends this chill down your back that you can't explain.  
  
  
"They're at school, sweetie. I thought you and I could get to know each other better." She opens the door back up, her glittery black nails sparkling. You smile and shrug. Why not? The thought crosses your mind briefly before you follow her out to her car. That beautiful black Lamborghini Diablo SE30. She pressed a button on her keys that sent the doors slowly sliding upward. You slip into the passenger seat, tossing your bag into the back seat.  
  
  
As the doors slid back into place, you noticed something by the edge of the trees, a white and black blur of some sort. You look out the window, but whatever it was, it's gone now.  
  
  
You turn back to Jane, who seems to be watching you intently. "Did you see that?" She smiles sweetly and shakes her head, turning the key in the ignition as she does.  
  
  
"I didn't see anything, (Name)." She turns her eyes back to the road, and as she does you catch a glimpse of those black eyes again. You shake your head and look back out the window.  
  
  
"Jane? What color are your eyes?" You stare straight out the window, but you can feel her looking at you as she answers.  
  
  
"Dark blue. A kind of purplish blue, to be honest. Family trait. Why?" You shake your head and smile.  
  
"No reason." The rest of the drive to school is spent by talking about her brothers; in particular, Tim and Brian. You just couldn't seem to get the two of them out of your head, which in itself is a miracle. You've never been interested in anyone before, much less attracted to them. There's just something about the two of them that makes you smile, that makes you feel somewhat giddy. You try to push the feeling aside though; it has only been a few days that you've known them. This kind of early attachment cannot be good for someone… but you're also slightly relieved. Now you know that you actually are capable of feeling something for another human being that you weren't related to. You had almost begun to worry about it, but you no longer have to.  
  
  
Now you're just worried about keeping your emotions in check.  
  
  
As you near the school, Jane hits the side of the steering wheel. "Fuck! I forgot to do the work for Aitken's class! I cannot get another F in his class. (Name), I'm so sorry, but I have to turn around." She looks up as they pull up to the light, checking before she pulls her U-turn.  
  
"Wait, Jane, just keep going. You can copy mine. Just this once, okay?" You can see the relief as Jane relaxes, slumping forward before straightening out.  
  
"Oh my God, thank you (Name)! You're a lifesaver." You laugh and shrug, telling her that it's really not a big deal. She keeps driving, slowing down to sixty now that you're in town. It's still thirty mph over the limit, but it's better than the eighty she does when you guys hit the freeway. You reach back and grab your bag, looking for the work you had done for French. The language was surprisingly easy for you.  
  
  
As you're flipping through your binder, something slips out, floating down to your feet. You pick it up and turn it over. You freeze, your blood running cold.  
  
It's the note.  
  
The note you threw away last night.  


The note that you had crumpled up that was somehow in perfect condition.

  
You calmly slip it into your bag and quietly find your French work, pulling it out and handing it to Jane with shaky hands. She says thanks a dozen times as she copies it down, but all you can think is that you may actually be losing your mind.  
  
  
How the hell did it get back into your bag?  
  
  
\-----------------------------------------------  
  
You are bored. More bored than you could possibly imagine being. When did French become so boring?  
  
That would be always. It became exciting the moment that you were placed in between Tim and Brian at your table. However, unlike yesterday, the two of them seem unusually tame. Not that this is a bad thing; today you appreciate it. It gives you time to think about that damn note. Were you losing your mind? Or was something else going on?  
  
  
You don't believe in the occult. You never have. But everything changes, and it may be time for you to reconsider your reality.  
  
  
You almost laugh aloud at that. What is wrong with you? How could you even consider the possibility that Slenderman is real? Next you're going to be saying that your new friends really are psychopaths and that the Boogie Man lives under your bed.  
  
You smile and write a quick note, then make an exact copy: _I believe my sanity is in question. To make sure that I'm not losing my mind, would you please do something completely absurd and out of character. Only then will I believe that I am not losing my mind._ You pass one to your right, the other to your left. The response is immediate; both Tim and Brian crack up into laughs. You haven't heard either of them laugh like this before; Tim with his full, rough laugh and Brian with his shoulder shaking, mellow chuckle.  
  
The sound of a throat being cleared makes them quiet down, and you look up at Professor Aitken.  
  
"Inquiétez-vous pour me dire ce qui est si drôle?" You translate in your head; _Care to tell me what is so amusing ?_  
  
  
You consider for a moment before answering, "Ma santé d'esprit, monsieur."  
  
  
Your professor looks at you and shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. "Please pay attention. Next time, I will ask you to leave. Understood?" The three of you nod, and Aitken walks back down to the ground level.  
  
  
Tim looks back in your direction, as does Brian. The two of them both pass back your note, each one having responded the same thing.  
  
  
 _Anything for you, (Name)._  
  
  
You bite your lip to hide your smile, but you can't seem to hide the blush that stains your cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Ma santé d'esprit, monsieur."  
> This translate to "My Sanity, Sir."


	4. Sleepwalking And Various Other Activities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams... They aren't something that you really enjoy any more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything in italics is what you happen to be dreaming. Sleep tight.

__ You can’t get away, no matter how fast you run. They are catching up to you faster than you are getting away from them. You can hear your heart pounding in your ears as you run… your erratic, frantic breathing the only other noise.   
  
How can they run so quietly?!   
  
You turn down another hallway. You had already decided that the building was abandoned due to the fact that no one came to help you when you had started screaming. You lose your footing as you turn, slipping and slamming into the wall. You feel a sharp pain in your shoulder, and as you pull back to stand, you see a splattering of blood against the wall.   
  
Your blood.   
  
You stand up on shaky legs and try to take off down the hall, but you’ve lost too much time. A body slams into you, pinning you to the wall. The weight lifts off of you, and you look up into those endless black pits. They are joined a moment later by a pair of flat red eyes, and you begin to panic. Your breathing has become erratic, and you’re struggling only slightly.   
  
You can’t stop looking into those eyes. The moment you pull your eyes away from one, you find yourself looking into the others. It’s becoming harder to struggle as the one with the black eyes gently runs his leather clad hands over your arms, from your shoulders down to your hands. The leather runs over your skin gently. The one with the red eyes slowly drops to his knees next to you, running his gloved fingers through your hair.   
  
You whimper softly as you close your eyes, giving up. Because you want this, you want them. With your eyes closed, you can’t see their eyes, and all of your fear seems to ebb away as they continue to touch you. There’s a sharp ripping sound, the tearing of cloth. One of them, mostly likely the one with the black eyes, wraps a strip of cloth around your injured arm before slowly tugging at the bottom of your shirt.   
  
You bite your lip and shake your head. “Please, no.” Your voice is soft, scared, and sounds shaky to your ears. The hands become more insistent, and you realize he isn’t going to let you say no. You let him take your shirt off which leaves you in your bra, blushing, and you just wish that if he was going to do this to you, that he would just do it faster.   
  
Your shirt goes over your head, and you open your eyes slowly and look up into those black eyes, those red eyes. They both lift their hands to their faces, one sliding his mask up, the other rolling his up. They don’t remove them all the way, just enough that their mouths are free to use. The one with the red eyes leans in slowly and he presses his lips to yours. You close your eyes as your cheeks heat up slightly. The other one brushes kisses over your collarbone and your shoulders, his tongue occasionally brushing over your skin.   
  
Why had you been running away from this, from them? You open your eyes as the one kissing you pulls away and trails his lips down the expanse of your neck. You inhale sharply as the one with the black eyes bites down on your shoulder before pulling away from you. He tugs on the hood of the other one, and the two of them look at each other, and then pull down their masks, tugging them back into place.   
  
The black eyed one pulls something from a bag that you had not noticed before. It’s a thin shirt like the one that you had ruined, nearly the same colour. He gestures to it, and then to you, as though he wants you to put it on. You accept it and tug it over your head and into place. They nod as though satisfied with the way it looks on you, and then they help you stand up, wrapping their arms around you to steady you. The larger one picks you up, and you look at the red eyes above you, a twinge of fear mixed in with this new comfort you find in being around them, and that seems to be mixed in with something else entirely.   
  
They start walking; occasionally one will brush fingers over your skin, or through your hair, but they mostly keep their hands to themselves. You cling to the one holding you tightly, unsure of where they are taking you. Soon the air seems to chill, and you see an open door, and beyond it are trees and grass. The one- you're getting kind of tired of referring to them by the color of their eyes- wearing the orange jacket stops and takes it off, wrapping it over your shoulder. You swear you’ve seen it before, this jacket. You breathe in and smell something sweet and earthy. Tobacco and sandalwood, perhaps?   
  
You’ve been walking through the woods for a while, but it seems as though time does not exist. You’re warm and secure; in fact, you are happy. How did your immense fear and wariness become this pleasant warmth?   
  
At the moment, it doesn’t matter, not really. All you want is to enjoy this warmth and security while it lasts.   
  
As it turns out, they were taking you back to your house. The trees thin out and you look up at the dark sky and the bright moon. Your house shines dimly, and you can’t help but feel a little… disappointed. You don’t want to go home, not now.   
  
You reach the back door, and the one not holding you turns the handle slowly. They walk up the stairs, careful not to wake Angelica. They reach your room, and the one holding you sets you down and opens your door. They gesture for you to go in, following you and closing the door. You stand uncertainly in the middle of the room. One of them ushers you to bed as the other retrieves a wet cloth to clean the streaks of blood and dust away. They tuck you into your bed and stand to leave, but your hand shoots out and catches a leather clad hand, “Please don’t leave!”   
  
The two exchange a look before slowly, hesitantly climbing onto your bed and lying on either side of you. You feel arms gently wrap around you, and the warmth embraces you.   
  
You fall asleep easily.   
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~   
  
  
You rub your eyes as you stand up, stretching. What a strange dream. You roll your shoulders lightly as you walk into your bathroom. You stop dead in your tracks as you see yourself in the mirror.    
  
Around your left arm is a strip of cloth.   
  
You take a deep breath as you untie it, hoping beyond belief that your arm is clean underneath. Instead, your eyes are met with traces of blood and a healing scab.   
  
You let out your breath in a sob.   
  
You weren’t dreaming.   
  
You were sleepwalking.


	5. I'm Losing My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian and Tim just can't leave you alone. Not when it's so obvious that you need someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know, I like reviews. By like, I mean am completely obsessed with them. Please review?

You are pretty sure that you’ve lost your mind. You can Angie calling for you, but the words don’t register as you continue to cry. Nothing makes sense anymore. How can it?   
  
“Hey, (Name), the Mannings—Ohmygod, (Name), are you okay?!” Angie rushes to your side and tries to wrap her arms about you, but you push them away and continue to cry, tucking your head down between your arms. You don’t want to see her, don’t want to see anyone. Who knows what else you’ve thought was not real that actually was? Or what you’ve imagined?   
  
“Angelica, is (Name) alright?” You hear Brian’s voice, hear the worry, but it just slides right off you. You don’t want them here, not while you are having a mental breakdown.   
  
“I-I don’t know. She h-hasn't done this in… years..” Angie backs away from you with small, stumbling steps. You feel a set of hands lifting your head up and curling around your face. Another set of arms wraps around you from behind, hugging you against a solid chest. You lean back into the person and look up at Brian, which leads you to assume that Tim is holding you.   
  
“G-g-go away!!” Your voice cracks multiple times as you try to push them away. They don’t let you, wrapping their arms around you tighter, holding you close to them. Eventually you give up and just cry, trying to turn away from them.   
  
“(Name), what happened? Talk to us.” Brian’s hands return to cup your cheeks, and his words are so soft you almost missed them. You look down at his sweatshirt instead of making eye contact. It hurts too much to let someone look in your eyes when you feel so raw, so scared.   
  
“Please. We won’t hurt you. You know that. Let us help you.” Tim whispers the words in your ear, his lips brushing against your skin. You pull your legs up and shift so that you are pressed between the two, a shoulder against each of them. Tim keeps his arms around your shoulders, and Brian wraps his around your waist. You untangle your arms and look up at the door. Angie left at some point, and closed the door behind her.   
  
You lean forward and press play on your iPod, and the music fills your room through your stereo. You have a favorites list playing, and you catch the last few seconds of “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode before it switches to something by Muse, a song that you’ve always loved, called “Undisclosed Desires”.   
  
You lean back into the two, shuddering slightly as you breathe out, shakily. “I-I th-think that I-I’m…” You take a breath to calm down so that you can speak, “I think that I’m going cr-crazy.” You hide your damp, tear covered face in your hands. A set of warm hands pull your hands away.   
  
“(Name)… Look at me.” You look up at Tim, who has moved closer in the last few seconds. He tilts your face up slightly, and his eyes flash to Brian for a moment. He looks back at you, probably after receiving a nod from his brother. He presses his forehead to yours and sighs. “You aren’t going crazy. There’s nothing wrong with your sanity. It’s this town, not you. Tell us why you think that you’re going crazy.”   
  
“I… I had this dream last night. I don’t want to talk about it too much, but in it I cut my arm up, and one of the people there with tied some fabric on it to slow the bleeding. Wh-when I woke up… I was still wearing the fabric… And I have a matching scab to the cut in my dream.” You look up at Brian, and then at Tim. “I was sleepwalking again, I know that. But… the other things that happened… I h-have to be crazy to have let all of that happen.”   
  
Brian turns your head so he can look at you. There’s a soft smile across his sweet face, and for a minute, you think he might actually tell you that you are crazy. Instead, he does the same thing as Tim, and he presses his forehead to yours, and he whispers softly to you, “You aren’t crazy. Like Tim said, it’s not you. It’s this town, this place. We promise you, you’re just fine. "   
  
Hot tears slid down your face as his words reach you. You never knew that it felt so… good to be cared for, to have someone or some people care so much about you, to have someone to cry with.   
  
It makes you cry even harder.   
  
Tim and Brian don’t even bat an eyelash; actually, your reaction makes more sense to them then you ever will know or understand.   
  
They hold you the entire time that you cry, alternating between trying to distract you and trying to calm you. After a while of crying out all of your pent up tears, you calm down enough to breath properly. The two of them begin to make you smile, and in time, laugh.   
  
As soon as you feel better, you shoo them out so that you can dress. You glance at the clock and gasp. It’s been almost two whole hours. You quickly throw on a (favorite color) tank top, a flannel, and a pair of faded shorts. After slipping into your old (shoe brand), you grab your bag and run down the stairs. Tim and Brian are standing at the bottom, both having removed their jackets, leaving Tim in a dark grey v-neck and Brian in a black t-shirt.   
  
The two of them spot your bag and shake their heads. “Oh, no.”   
  
“Leave that here, (Name), because we are not going to class.” Tim smiles at you, and Brian chuckles slightly at the confused look on your face.   
  
“What do you mean?” You look from one to the other, waiting for someone to reply. Brian does you the honor of explaining.   
  
“We aren’t going to school. You need to seriously relax. So instead, Tim and I were thinking that… "   
  
“That we might go for a hike. It’s a beautiful day, and as long as you stick with us, nothing bad should happen to you.” Tim shifts his weight slightly, coughing weakly. You had noticed that he coughed a lot every once in a while, and you peg it on those cigarettes he’s always smoking.   
  
“A hike?” a spike of uncertainty rises in your chest, but you push it down. “Uh, any place in particular?”   
  
Brian nods and gestures to Tim in a faintly familiar way. “We want to take you to this cool burned down building off the trail.”   
  
You feel your heart stop as you look at their combined smiles. Brian grabs your bag and tosses it onto the couch and Tim pulls you toward the door. You stumble along behind them, stunned.    
  
A burned out building? Are they really taking you to the building from your sleepwalking daze?   
  
Only one way to find out.

* * *

 


	6. Parking Has It's Advantages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, distraction is the best remedy for saddness...

You stare out the window continuously as Tim drives- for once, you aren't worried about crashing and possibly dying. Tim isn't exactly at the thirty-five mph speed limit, but he's a whole lot closer than Jane or Angie would ever be. You guys talk nonstop, only stopping when you reach the store and stock up on some snacks. It's a ridiculous amount, but with the way they eat at lunch, it's probably better you buy excess.   
  
"So how long have you guys lived here?" Tim and Brian look at you, but Tim quickly refocuses on the road.   
  
"You mean no one told you? That's different." Brian chuckles and you stare at him oddly, unused to his sudden sarcasm. "We moved here after Jeff's accident. We didn't want to stay in the town we had lived in… Not where the whole thing happened. So probably 'bout two years"   
  
"The accident… I still don't know what happened."   
  
Both Brian and Tim look startled, but before Brian can say anything, Tim takes over. "Well… Uh, Jeff got in a fight. He was defending Lui and a lot of bad stuff happened. It ended with Jeff getting covered in bleach and having one of the assholes set him on fire. His, uh, face is still pretty bad."   
  
You feel a pang in your chest. This is the guy that you had felt uneasy around? The next time you saw him, you'd have to do something to make up for it. "That's… unbelievable. But who's Lui?"   
  
"Lui was Jeff's brother." Tim turns off onto a new road, this one unpaved and slightly bumpy.   
  
"Brother? But Jane said…"   
  
"We're all adopted, (Name). Mr. Manning adopted all of us. Me, Tim, Jane, Ben, Jeff, Alex, and Sadie. He and his brother take care of all of us. They really are great guys- just kind of… eccentric." Brian flashes his first smile since you've started this conversation. It makes your heart flutter in that special way that you associated with the two. You catch sight of Tim's jacket on the seat between you and Brian, and you are shocked by the thought that crashes into your head. That looks just like the jacket that the one with black eyes was wearing…   
  
You sit back in your seat and look at the two guys next to you. Was it possible…? No, it absolutely wasn't.   
  
You feel the car stop and look at the others. They are both unbuckled and are looking at you with slight worry. "(Name), are you alright? We've been stopped for a few minutes, and it was like you couldn't hear us." Brian's voice carries his emotions, as always, and you can sense his concern for you.

  
Fuck. Just fuck. Your mind was acting up again. Did you need stronger meds? Was there stronger meds?   
  
"What were you thinking?" Tim looks and sounds equally as unsettled by your sudden lapse into silence.   
  
"Just… My dream- or my not-dream-dream." You shake your head and smile up at them, "It's nothing. Let's go for that hike." You reach over Brian, trying to open the door, but he grabs your arm, holding you in place.   
  
"It's not nothing." Tim whispers, and you turn to look at him as he touches your shoulder, and he seems much closer than a moment before. Brian runs his hand gently up to your other shoulder, and you turn to look at him to find that he, too, appears much closer.   
  
"Whatever you were thinking really upset you." Brian touches your face with his other hand, and you let your eyes fall to your lap, cursing yourself for being so shy.   
  
"I-I-I really am f-fine. We should go before it gets too late. It's already almost noon."   
  
"(Name), you aren't getting' off the hook so easily." You look up at Tim to find him looking over your head, smiling. You quickly turn to Brian, who is smiling back at Tim. They make a few gestures, tilting their heads back and forth, smiling even more as you whip your head from one to the other.   
  
Brian catches your face in his hands, smiling widely at you. "If you won't talk to us…"   
  
Tim's arms wrap around your waist from behind, his fingers brushing over the thin fabric of your tank top, leaving a trail of tickling flames. "… Then we'll have to find something else to occupy ourselves with, won't we, Brian?"   
  
Brian leans in so that his lips hover above yours, brushing against your mouth with every word, "I think we will, Tim."   
  
Your heart pounds painfully against your chest and your cheeks flush with a fiery intensity. You take in a sharp breath with every single word they say, and you squeeze your eyes shut. They have to be playing with you, you think, they just have to.   
  
At least, those were your thoughts up until Brian's lips connected with yours, pulling apart your every bit of mental stability. You almost miss the feeling of Tim's lips on your neck, on your shoulder. Almost, but the searing heat that he burns you with is hard to miss. As Brian breaks away, you realize that you had forgotten to breath.   
  
You suck in a harsh breath as you look up at Brian, slightly confused, extremely dazed, and definitely flustered. He smiles down at you and chuckles. You look back at Tim, who is also smiling. He catches your face in his hands, turns your head to him and whispers, his voice husky and almost dark,"I think it's my turn."   
  
Tim's mouth crashes down on yours, and whereas Brian had been gentle but insistent, Tim was fierce and urgent, probing his tongue against your lips. You open them compliantly as Brian begins to nip at your neck. A small moan is torn from your throat, which encourages the two even more. Tim's hands wonder down your arms and somehow end up at your hips while Brian's seem to be exploring your stomach.   
  
You tremble underneath their hands, and eventually Tim releases you from the spell the two had woven over you.   
  
You breath in raggedly, and it takes you a moment to realize that they are waiting for your reaction. You think as carefully as your scattered mind can before speaking. "I… I don't… Understand. Wh-why me? And both of you… God." You look out the window as they both wrap their arms around you, Tim claiming your shoulders and Brian your hips.   
  
"You mean you didn't realize that we had a thing for you?" Brian chuckles as he brushes your hair out of your eyes. Tim takes over, tucking a few strands behind your ear.   
  
"I think she doesn't understand why we both kissed her. (Name), do remember what Jane said about us? The day we all met?" You lift your head and think, your mind clearing out the hazy clouds that the two had placed there.   
  
"Th-that the two of you could take on Jeff together…"   
  
"…Just like we do everything else." The two finish in unison. You feel your eyes widen as you take in the full meaning of those words. If that meant what you thought it did, then you were, quite literally, screwed.   
  
Not that you'd mind much, of course.


	7. A Burning Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While your hike may have gone so easily, what's waiting for you at the end may just be the most dangerous situation you've ever been in.

The hike goes on without any other significant events to speak of; you do, however, find yourself constantly blushing and giggling in an almost annoying manor. You can't seem to help it, every time you catch Tim or Brian's eye, you smile like an idiot. They don't seem to mind; in fact, every time you smile, they do, too. If they're close enough, they even kiss you, which (just as before) makes your mind shatter and your heart flip.

Is it bad that you think you could easily fall in love with both of them?

You break for lunch (or an early dinner, you guess) at some point before continuing on. Eventually you reach the burned building. It's exactly the one from your not-so-dream, and it floors you to be near it, and that's before the feelings begin to hit you. The closer you get to the building, the more intense the feelings become. Anger, fear, sadness, loneliness, and a deep set hate battle for dominance, and it's almost unbearable, that is, until Tim takes your hand. Then you begin to feel calm, and you wonder why this is. The thought slips from your head as fast as it had come.

You look around the building and come to the conclusion that it was probably a school of some sort, right up until you actually reach the door. At that point, you notice a maintenance tunnel, and you change your assessment. It's not a school; it's a hospital. Why is there a burned down hospital in the middle of the forest?

"This place... how did you find it? It's so deep in these woods..." Your voice is soft, mostly because you are afraid to speak any louder. It's an irrational fear at best, and you're sure that it's sprung from your new irrational belief in Slenderman. These are, after all, his woods.

"It's kind of… well… umm, I don't exactly know." Brian glances toward Tim and then back at you. Tim sighs from behind you, and you face him.

"I… I was sent here when I was younger. I had some… Problems." He's staring at the burned building, his eyes slightly unfocused. You feel a slight tug on your heart at his statement. Who would put their child in a hospital of any kind simply because they had problems?

"Well now you don't. Let's go inside." You turn and stride purposely toward the building, Brian and Tim rushing after you.

"Hey, no! We can't go in there!"

"(Name), wait!"

You laugh, but your heart isn't really in it. "Nothing bad is going to happen if we go inside." You blink, and when you reopen your eyes, standing in front of you is a tall, slender figure. There's a sudden noise in your head, something that resembles a cross between white noise and a blaring siren. You clutch your ears, but the noise seems to be inside your head.

"Sir, stop, you're going to hurt her!" You faintly hear Tim and Brian arguing with the man.

"Please, don't do this to her! We need her!"

The noise in your head fades away slowly as you start to teeter, the sound of shoes connecting with rocks the now prominent sound. You feel your head connect with the ground, and with a short snap, everything goes black.


	8. Hello, Monsters. Please Don't Eat Me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You may have woken up, but you're wondering if you're ever going to really WAKE UP.

_The pain in your leg causes you to fall, and as you fall, you slam your head against the wall. A trickle of warmth runs over your ear, but you ignore it, standing back up to run._

 

_Alex is too close for you to stop. If he catches you, then you might never see tomorrow._

_As you run, You grip the camera strapped to your wrist tightly. You can’t drop it. If you lose the camera, then you won’t have any proof. Proof that he tried to kill your cousin Amy, proof that he’s been lying this whole time, proof that everything you’ve been trying to help him with was all a lie._

_Proof that he tried to-_

_You trip over something on the floor, but this time you can’t stand up. You’ve twisted your ankle._

_“(Name)…You can come out now. I promise I won’t hurt you. Where are you? (Name)?” His voice is close. Too close. You start to cry. The pain in both your ankle and your head are too much to deal with, as is your fear of Alex. You start to shake, the sobs ripped from your throat._

_As you try to catch your breath, a hand darts out of the darkness and wraps around your throat. You look up, your air cut off. You find yourself looking straight into a pair of brown eyes sheathed in glass._

_“Found you, bitch.”_

_~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~_

 

The pounding in your head is what ends up bringing you back to the present, not the sound of your name, nor the feeling of fingers brushing lightly against your forehead. As your eyes slowly open, you find yourself laying in a bed in a mostly black room. Sitting in front of you is Jane, a wet rag in her hand. She’s looking down at her hands as she wrings the rag dry, but you can see her eyes clearly. Sparkling black gems, with no white, no color. You blink your eyes and reach out slowly to touch her. “J-Jane…” Your voice is cracked and soft, but the look of surprise on her usually calm face startles you.

 

“Oh… Oh, no, you aren’t supposed to wake up for another hour. Masky and Hoodie were… I guess it doesn’t matter now.” She sighs, almost irritated, but mostly saddened. She smiles at you then, revealing white teeth. “Better go and get the wonder twins. They’ll be eager to see you.” Jane stands up, and you notice a trail of black following her, smoky and swirling. The door doesn’t shut all the way behind her, only stopping at the frame. You drop your head onto the pillow beneath it and stare blindly at the ceiling.

 

Your meds sure choose a wonderful time to stop working.

 

You push yourself up slowly, swinging your legs over the edge. You take a few seconds to steady yourself as you stand, and then you take a few wobbling steps as you realize you can’t really walk. Eventually, you make your way into the hallway, using the same door that Jane had. You look both ways; to your right is a series of doors, at least six, and yet another set of hallways. To the left are two doors and a set of stairs. After careful thinking, you decide on the stairs.   
  


As you get closer, you can hear voices drifting up to you. The two prominent voices sound like Tim and Brian… but there’s something off. They almost sound… like they’ve been run through a translator. Slightly broken words and hesitations that shouldn’t have been there. Another voice, this one baritone. Your meds were definitely off, because this voice seemed to be layered, the deep sound echoing and overlapping itself. You start down the stairs, and as you descend the long staircase, the voices become clearer.

 

“Sir, please.” You could pick out enough similarities to name this voice as Tim.

 

“be quiet. There is nothing else to discuss. She picked up the note. She initiated the game.” The baritone replied.

 

“But she didn’t know!!”  If the first voice had been Tim, then this one was definitely Brian; it was hard to tell, you’ve never heard him sound so desperate.

 

“Listen, I understand that you’re all busy arguing about your proxy stuff,” Jane paused, waiting for them to stop. The three voices quieted down to listen, “But we have a problem.”

 

Your feet wobble over the last few steps, so you call out to Jane. “Hello? Jane?” You turn toward the room in front of you and nearly pass out. Standing before you is a sight unlike any other you’ve ever seen. Jane is standing only a few feet in front of you, black eyes glinting, and behind her are two figures: the figures from your dream. The orange and yellow jackets are unmistakable, as are the black and red eyes staring at you. The figures turn to you, as does the one in front of them. You crane your neck slowly upward, your eyes tracing over a black suit, a red tie and crisp white shirt, all the way to a blank, shadowed face. Your legs give out then as you stare up at the blank slate in utter horror.

 

“She’s awake.” Jane looked down at her pointed, black nails, feigning complete boredom. The two figures rush toward you, moving faster than humanly possible.

 

“(Name)!”

 

“Oh god, you’re awake!”

 

Two sets of arms encase you, a set around your shoulders, a set around your waist, but it’s something you barely register. Your eyes are still glued to the nonexistent ones of Slenderman.

 

Because he’s real.

 

He’s standing in front of you.

 

Staring at you.

 

You suck in a harsh, ragged breath. The two holding you pull back, assuming it’s their fault. But you can’t hold your breath in, and so you let it out.

 

You’ve never been a person that screamed a lot. But this definitely calls for a scream. You close your eyes, trapping yourself in your head, the scream blocking out all sound, your eyelids blocking out all sight. You scream until you feel your throat constrict, and then you open your eyes and look up.

 

Wrapped about your throat is a thin black tentacle, and it squeezes you tighter. You close your eyes, waiting for darkness to claim you, but instead the pressure releases, and you suck in air.

 

“Do not make that noise again. I find it highly irritating.” The deep baritone rings in your ears, and you look up at Slenderman. His head is tilted down toward you, shadows where his eyes should be. You swallow hard to stop the next scream from bubbling up, and it comes out a soft whimper instead. The moment his tentacle retracts, the two masks stand up and in front of you, blocking you from his view.

 

“Leave her alone. She can’t help it.” The one on the right crosed his arms, his black leather gloves whispering as he tightened his hands on his arms.

 

“She really doesn’t know anything.”  The yellow hood offers you a hand, and you keep your eyes down, refusing to make contact with anybody as you accept his hand. A soft bolt of something electric shots up your arm and you quickly withdraw your hand. You rub your forehead and wince. Your hand has traces of red on it when you pull it back, and another set of hands replace yours.

 

“She’s still bleeding. Should probably keep Jack out of here until I stitch it. Jane, will you grab my emergency kit? I believe Jeff hid it in his room. It will give you a chance to ruin some more of his things.” One of the hands tilts your head up, and you are met by slowly bleeding drak eyes. The eyes pull away slightly, giving you enough room to see the man’s face. His resemblence to the video game character Link takes you on a slight trip before he sighs, “Looks like she may have a concusion as well. Slenderman, you really need to control your temper.”

 

“W-who…?” Your voice cracks as you wrap your arms around yourself.

 

“My bad. I’m Ben. Jane, could you please hurry? I really need to stitch her up before Jack catches wiff of this. You know he’ll be on her before any of us could stop him.” The guy tilted his head and smiled darkly, his teeth sharp and white.

 

“This isn’t real, this isn’t happening, this isn’t real, this isn’t happening….” Your voice is almost inaudiable as you whisper your safe words, hoping that you’ll wake up soon. A hand touches your face, and you open your tear filled eyes slowly. Jane is looking down at you, her eyes glimmering softly as she smiles sadly.

 

“This is real, (Name), and I promise we won’t hurt you.”

 

You take a deep breath and close your eyes, trying to understand everything that’s happening. However… It just may be too impossible a task.


	9. Truth And Other Trivious Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up is hard, but admitting you're already awake may be harder.

"What are doing now?" Your voice is laced with curiosity and a slight twinge of pain, but whatever Ben had rubbed into your forehead stopped most of the pain.

 

"I am stitching the wound shut." Ben sighed, rolling his eyes. Your conversation had gone on like this for some time now, with you asking Ben what he was doing and with him trying not to hit you over the head. You had the feeling that he was getting really irritated with you, but he really wasn't showing it. About halfway through your stitches, he stops, lifting a wet rag to wipe blood off your forehead. After a moment of hesitation he uses it to dab at the bleeding under his own eyes.

 

"Why do your eyes bleed like that?"

 

"Will you shut up and let me work? You have no idea how much I'd prefer to just cut you open, or even better, drown you." Ben smiles at the thought, making you shiver. He really did creep you out a bit. However, you also had a gaping hole in your forehead that no one else seemed to want to help you with.

 

In fact, everyone except your two 'guardians' seemed to have dispersed. Jane had left shortly after bringing the first aid kit down to you. You think she said something about watching this Jack person everyone was so worried about. The Slenderman thing had left before she had returned, insisting that he couldn't be in the same room as you, that what was happening violated every rule they had. You really didn't understand anything, but you had finally convinced yourself that this was real.

 

Once you had had your meds, and nothing around you had changed, you had finally decided that everything was real. Your immediate reaction had been to freak out, so you had. When you had seen the needle in Ben's hands you had fought him, trying to keep him away. Once you had gotten him out of arms reach you had kept him away by kicking at him every time he had come closer, which probably hurt considering your shoe choice for the day was combat boots. He didn't bat a single bloody eyelash when you did; instead he cursed at you until you had calmed down.

 

~~~~~0~~~~~

 

"I'm trying to fucking help you, dipshit!" Ben reached up and grabbed your ankle only to have your other foot planted firmly in his face.

"Stay away from me!"

 

~~~~~0~~~~~

 

A shadow was cast over Ben, and you looked behind you to see a pair of flat red eyes examining the work on your head.

 

"She's fine Hoodie, now back up so I can finish. Hey, Masky, come get your twin out of the light." A leather clad hand grasped 'Hoodie' by the shoulder, steering him away from you. The same hand then came to cup your cheek, tilting your head up. You looked into those never-ending black eyes as he leaned in and pressed the lips of his mask to your forehead. "Yeah, because you kissing it is really going to make it better. Get out of the way, Wonder Twin."

 

"Why do you guys call them that? The Wonder Twins?" You tilt your head curiously toward Ben as the hand receded from your view, as did the mask. Ben finishes the stitches, tying them off as he answers.

 

"Because they might as well be. They do fucking everything together and we can't get them to separate. I think they even share the same bed – Fuck!" A hand collided with the back of Ben's head, knocking his hat off.

 

Ben jumps to his feet and looks slightly up at 'Masky'. The mask cocks to the side silently, but his shoulders are shaking. He's actually laughing at Ben. Of course, Ben doesn't like this, and he takes a swing at the taller man. The mask ducks to the side and Ben lands flat on the floor.

 

You do the absolute unthinkable at this; you laugh. Everyone stops and looks at you. For some reason, this makes you laugh even harder. In fact, you can't seem to stop laughing. This is fixed rather quickly as your laughs turn into painful cries. A hand touches your face, tilting your head up. A slightly tilted mask stares back at you, and you can feel waves of concern emanating off of him. You suddenly don't care that he's probably not human; you need comfort and he's offering it.

 

You throw your arms around his neck and cry. Another set of arms hugs you from behind as a head lies on your shoulder. A familiar feeling of warmth covers you, and something about it isn't quite right. You know this feeling, had felt it only hours earlier. Realization slams into you hard and you throw your eyes open. Your crying stops as you untangle yourself from your 'guardians'. The black and red eyes watch you, confused.

 

You reach your hand out to the white mask hovering close to you. A hand covers yours, holding it there. You slip your fingers under the edge and rip it away fast, the strap snapping as it breaks. The mask falls to the ground in silence, rattling as it settles.

It's Tim. You look down at the mask, shaking your head. His eyes are wide when you look back up, his lips moving inaudibly. You touch his cheek sadly before turning to who you now know is Brian. You push his hood back and slowly roll his mask up. Brian's green eyes watch you, sadness filling them.

 

You shake you head again and stand up, a wave of dizziness hitting you as you do. Tim's hands rise to steady you, but you slap them away. When you glance at him and Brian again, their gazes are full of hurt and regret.

 

"What did you expect? That I'd act like some girl out of a sappy book, all giddy and happy now that I know your big secret?" They look down, avoiding eye contact. "Oh my God… You actually did." You turn and walk toward one of the various doors in the room. You touch the door slowly. "Will this door take me outside?"

 

There's a long, silent hesitation before Brian answers you, "Yes. That's the door you want."

You nod slowly, and then turn around. Tim has his face in his hand, a cigarette lit in his other while Brian watches you with his gloved hands in his lap. "Well? Are you going to take me home? Or do I have to find my own way?" The two jerk upright, looking up at you with astonishment in their eyes. "I might be mad, but trust me when I say that I'm going to make you explain every-fucking-thing to me. Maybe I'll stop being mad then. Get up. I don't think I can drive myself home."

 

You watch as your boys scramble to their feet, removing gloves and jackets as they hurry toward you. They drop them on a table that's pushed against the wall before they gather you into their arms. Tim's lips cover yours, quickly replaced by Brian's. They both hold onto you tightly until you start to wiggle your arms, slapping at them a bit.

 

"Knock it off. I'm still mad." You snap at them, but your heart really isn't in it. For some reason, you're having an easier time adjusting to this then you thought, especially since you've had your meds. One of them opens the door for you as you walk out, then rushes on ahead to open your door. Tim hops into the drives seat and Brian sits next you.

 

As the car roars to life, the radio comes on. It's halfway through "Knights of Cydonia". You laugh dryly, taking it as a sign. What else could it be?

 

"So… you want us to explain…" Tim's voice sounds cracked, like he hasn't spoken in a while. "What do you want to know?"

 

You pause before answering carefully. "Let's start with Slenderman."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Sup lovelies? This is Ari, letting everyone who's reading this know thatI may not be updatting too often for a while. Thank you for your support and your continual audience!


	10. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst mistake you've ever made? This is in the running.

 

It's been a week since you've found out about everything. You had had some trouble with Angie when you had gotten home. Turns out that when you didn't come home from the hike, she had called the police and told them you had been 'kidnapped by the town's crazies'. The police had been all over the place when you had gotten home, asking questions and looking for you. They had almost arrested Tim and Brian when they had seen you in the truck with them. Until you had gotten out and yelled at them for pointing guns at you. Angie had come running out, screaming at them to arrest Tim and Brian until you had to slap her, knocking her onto her but. She had watched you with shock, so you helped her up and told her your phone had died and that you had crashed at their house with Jane.

After that incident, Angie had been hesitant to see them. Whenever Ben shows up at your house now he always tapped your forehead. It was weird to see them during the day wearing normal clothes with make up to hide their 'differences'. What was really weird was when you finally caught Jeff without his bandages.

You frequently went to their house after classes, and although you had encountered Ben, Jack, and Jane without their make-up, you had yet to encounter Jeff.

Today was different.

Today you regret that you even know him.

You’re pretty sure you’re scarred for life.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~

You had been waiting for Tim and Brian to get home. The Slenderman had sent them on a mission of some sort. They never told you what they actually did for him; apparently Slenderman drew the line at that. You weren’t sure that you actually wanted to know what they did. For all you knew, they could be out stealing or stalking people… God forbid they might be killing people.

Instead of thinking of all the horrible things that you boyfriends (you never tire of calling them that) could be doing, you decide to browse their reading material. While it mostly consisted of pornographic material, there had been an assortment of medical and psychological studies. Any and all magazines or books that you found of the first variety went straight into the trash can. They could be mad all they wanted later. After your cleansing was completed, you picked up a volume of therapy techniques and sat down to await the return of your boys.

So when you heard the screaming match start a few rooms down, you started, the book flipping out of your hands. Your immediate reaction was to go and check on the screamers, but you quelled it, deciding to instead listen.

“Why the fuck would you call me that?!” a feminine voice travelled through the walls and into Tim and Brian’s room.

“Because you’re a bitch! You always have been and you always will be!!!” Jeff’s voice was easily distinguishable; the rough tone held the same anger as always as he screamed insults at the woman.

“Oh, please, you motherfucking son of a bitch!!! You’re one to be fucking talking!! You’re the psycho killer!!” You’re attention perks at this, and you hesitate, debating between standing and ignoring it.

“And you’re the psycho killer’s fucking proxy!! What part of ‘you are forever my bitch’ don’t you get?!”

“How about the part where you expect me to just fucking bend over whenever you fucking want me to?! I don’t remember Slenderman fucking telling me about that!!” You close your eyes and shiver violently. You are seriously wishing you were somewhere else at this point, and you try your hardest to block it out as you retrieve your fallen book before planting yourself on the boys’ bed.

“It’s part of the job description, honey!! The whole ‘I am yours to command’ bit?! That ain’t a joke, you bitch!!” Jeff’s voice is rising, and you can feel the anger that it carries throughout the house. You try your best to ignore it, but your instinctive protection drive is going into hyper speed. You want to help this mystery woman, but… It’s Jeff. The only one who still freaks you the fuck out. You grit your teeth and open to the first chapter.

“I don’t care what kind of vow I made!!! I am not your sex doll!!” You plant your face in the book, the paper rubbing abrasively against your face. You really, really wish you were somewhere else.

“Actually you are, you little slut!!” There was a loud bang following this, and you jumped, the book flying into the air once more. You quickly stand, gathering your stuff and throwing it mindlessly into your bag. You can’t stand it any longer; you don’t want to hear them beat the crap out of each other. There’s more banging and a loud crash before a deafening silence fell over the house.

You stop, freezing in your place as your ears strain, trying to pick up any noise. The silence continued, and slowly you settled down, getting comfy on the boys’ bed. You took a deep breath and opened the book up, starting to read. You made it through the first chapter without a single interruption. You had just calmed all the way down when it happened.

“STOP IT, JEFF YOU’RE HURTING ME!!!!!” Pain filled the woman’s voice, along with some other emotion that you could not peg.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP CAT!!!!” You jerked to your feet and ran, yanking the door open as you ran to Jeff’s room. You had no idea what you planned to do, but you felt as though you had to do something. You couldn’t just abandon this woman to the mercy of Jeff.

“Jeff, don’t hurt he- ” You began to shout as you threw the door open, but your words cut off with a harsh gasp. The two stop moving, the girl staring at you with wide eyes while Jeff glared at you, his anger slicing through the air with a sudden intensity. It hit you so hard that you stumbled back.

On consideration, it was probably the sight of Jeff’s pure white face and slashed up mouth, the cuts giving him a permanent smile. Or the sight of Jeff pinning the beautiful dark haired woman to his headboard that made you stumble. The mostly naked woman. Who Jeff was straddling.

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!!!” You jerk away and slam the door just as the girl tried to speak.

“Wait, don’t le—“ You run back to Tim and Brian’s room, slamming the door behind you, slipping the lock into place. You lean into the door, your eyes wide as you press your forehead to the frame.

“(Name)? Are you okay?” You jump, spinning around to find yourself facing Tim and Brian. You give a shaky laugh and try to compose a response before your jaw drops. You had thought that Tim and Brian were gorgeous with all their clothes on—but seeing them shirtless made you speechless. You had no idea how they could turn you on right now-- not after what you just saw. You must have been dazed for longer than you had realized, because Tim chuckled and took your hand.

“Was that you that Jeff yelled at?” Brian said with a casual smile.

“I-I-I… Yes.” Your voice wavers and you find yourself incapable of speech consisting of more than a simple word. You lower your eyes as that pesky shyness takes hold, and your face heats up as you find yourself at eye level with Tim’s smooth muscles. You pull away and put distance between you and your boys. “C-c-could you both… put clothes on?”

Your comment is met with astonished silence. Instead of complying, the two proxies smile at you and pull you into their arms. “Now why would we want to do that?” Tim whispers against your ear, his hot breath making you shiver.

“That wouldn’t be any fun, now would it be?” Brian brushed his lips against your check, his face tilting toward yours as he hovered his lips over yours. Your breathing hitched, and all of your shyness dissolved. Your hands were in his hair faster than you were aware you could move, and the moment your lips met, a fire exploded in your chest, heating you from the inside out.

You pulled back and took a shaky breath, “Don’t fucking tease me. I might just take it seriously.”


	11. Nonperscription Drugs And A Little Insanity

"Don't fucking tease me. I might just take it seriously." You push away from the two, your heart pounding despite your teasing comment. You were trying hard to be as calm and sexy as Tim and Brian always appeared to be. The idea was for you to saunter off in a very sexy manner- If you could do so without falling on your face.

"Oh, come on. We're tempting you? You're the one who agreed to go out with _both_ of us, (Name). That's teasing in itself." Tim shook his head, flicking his bangs out of his dark, heavy eyes. You'd noticed that in the last few weeks Tim had been getting even tenser, probably from his massive [lack of sleep](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9268937/11/I-ll-Follow-You-Down). That, along with whatever strenuous activity that Slenderman made him do, was taking a harsh toll [on the man](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9268937/11/I-ll-Follow-You-Down). To make it more apparent, it seemed that Brian was getting better and better; you hadn't heard a single cough from him, and he seemed to glow from the inside out.

You suddenly realize that a few minutes have passed in which you've been absolutely silent. Both of the guys are watching you with some concern. "(Name)...Are you okay?"

"Of course." You reply happily, walking past them toward the stereo, a bounce in your step. It has always been a particularly strong belief of yours that girls who bounced while they walked were idiots, but you were beginning to reconsider. Bouncing was turning out to be fun. and it was as you were happily bounce-walking that Brian knocked you onto your back. You were stunned for a moment, and just as you were regaining conscious understanding of what had happened, a splash of black covered you from your head to feet, dripping into your open mouth and filling your (eye color) eyes.

The world around you instantly disappeared, and all you could see was the color red as your eyes tried to filter through the black gunk. after another moment, you could see again, but everything was distorted, the angles dramatic, and everything was a shade of red or black. Every object you stared at for too long seemed to stretch on forever. Even Tim and Brian had reached Slenderman status.

From what your swimming eyes could see, the door was open, and standing in it was a very pale, very pissed off Jeff, an empty bucket dangling from his hand. He was saying something, but none of it made any sense to you. For some reason, this made you hysterical. You began to laugh, and everything just went downhill from there. It felt like you couldn't breathe without laughing, like the laughter was you breathing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Third Person Point of View~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brain pushed (Name) down the second he saw Jeff throw the door open, but he was too slow. Jeff swung the heavy pail, emptying the thick, black, syrupy drug from inside it. It sprayed throughout the room, covering walls, shelves, the floor, and the room's three inhabitants. Tim and Brian picked up random pieces of clothing and began to frantically rub at their burning skin, removing the drug before it could sink into their skin.

"Keep your little bitch in your room, you shitheads!" Jeff's gravelly voice filled the room, sticking to the two proxies just like the drug.

"You stupid fucker! This is Ben's drug!" Tim dropped to his knees next to (Name), and both he and Brian stared in dawning horror as the girl writhed in hysterics. Her normally (eye color) eyes were filled with black, the drug seeping into her eyes and making them darker with each passing second.

"You guessed correctly! Why don't you get yourself a fucking cookie!" Jeff growled out, his voice laced heavily with sarcasm. He crossed his arms over his tattooed chest, covering the curlicue word over his heart.

"Don't you know what it does to mortals?!" Brian was in Jeff's face, his normally calm demeanor gone in a rush of anger. Unseen to the raging boys, a small girl slipped into the room, hurrying over to where (Name) lay. The girl on the floor was still laughing hysterically, her eyes tearing up. The girl knelt down, tugging the white jacket to keep it covering her.

she stared in disappointment as she examined (Name)'s eyes. she pulled out a small bottle from the hoodie's front pocket. Unscrewing the cap as quickly as humanly possible, the girl tried to calm down (Name), speaking softly,"Just try to stay still. I'm Cattie, and I'm going to get that fucking crap out of your eyes."

"Hehe. Cattie? Do they call you that because you're... Catty?" (Name) exclaimed, red tears pouring from her eyes. On closer inspection, Cattie realized that it was blood trailing down from her eyes. Her entire body was shaking, the drug wrecking havoc on her mortal form. She was unable to remain still, and wouldn't have been able to even if she was aware of what was happening. The pain that Cattie knew the other girl was feeling didn't seem to register; if anything, it made her laugh harder.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch." Cattie poured the solution into (Name)'s eyes, holding them open so that she couldn't blink the liquid away. For a moment, there was nothing. And then a piercing shriek filled the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Normal Point or View~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scream surprised you; you couldn't find where it was coming from. Everyone in the room was crowded around you, pale and horror stricken, when a sudden need for air struck you. You sucked in a harsh breath and realized you were the one screaming, your voice piercing through all the walls. Your eyes wre on fire, burning, and the pain racking your body was so acute that you almost couldn't feel it. A door slammed open, and with a flash of green, Ben had knocked everyone out of the way.

"Who the fuck was in my room, and what the fuck made you give her my lycacanabis unspecifiaca?!" Ben turned to glare up at the room's occupants.

"That would be the household's current bitter jackass." Brain's voice was so falsely upbeat that you almost laughed again- if you hadn't been screaming your sanity away.

"Which was formerly known as- GOD FUCKING DAMMIT JEFF!" There was a trail of black hair rushing out the door, and Ben took off after him swiftly.

The world round you was darkening, fuzzy around the edges. You wanted to sleep... just for a bit. You took a shaky breath... and closed your eyes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_You're running, panting, trying to get away. He may have lost his gun, but Alex Kraile was dangerous without it. Your wrist was certainly broken, and you had twisted your ankle at some point- but you couldn't stop. You had to get away, had to get home, get to a phone so you could call the police._

_Because you finally had evidence that Alex killed your cousin Amy._

_And it was in your pocket. A stupid little tape that would prove every thing. Every-fucking-thing that you've been saying for the last year. That Alex was crazy, a psychopath, and that Amy hadn't run away from home. She would have told you, she was your best friend and wouldn't leave you._

_And now you had fucking proof. But Alex had caught you sneaking around his house, and he had thought you were there for a different reason. He had smiled at you and offered to tell your parents that he was letting you stay the night. The disgust you had felt was almost suffocatingly nauseating. You had tried to excuse yourself, tried to leave, but he had seen you slip the tape into his pocket by then. He'd been chasing you through the fields and forest for the last hour, screaming threats at you. You were hiding in a large run down shack, tucked away behind a few loose panels. If he found you in here..._

_It was over._


	12. A Fun Little Game

Conversation between me and Anti-me~

Me: I love my readers! It's so cool to see how many people like my fan fictions! Hehe.

Anti-me: Are you kidding? They never leave reviews anymore! Come on, you- (Multiple foul words, bleeped for your sanity)!

Me:(gaping mouth) Where did you even learn those words?!

(Both are silent before answering together.) Jeff...

The moral here is that I love my readers, but I love your reviews equally as much!

~0~

_If Alex finds you here... It's all over. You're crammed into the tiny space as tightly as possible, wishing you were part of the insulation that you were pressed into. The boards were just lose enough that you could see between them into the room, but the shadows would keep you hidden. You hoped.  
_

_"(NAME)!" You flinch at Alex's voice, at the way that he screamed your name with such anger and desperation. The pace of your breathing picks up at the same time as the shaking in your hands begins. A wave of nausea washes over you as you hear steps, the sound of shoes on concrete. A soft whistling starts as Alex makes his way into the middle of the room. All around him there are overturned tables and couches, doors that had been ripped off their hinges. He looked around and smiled before his face twisted in rage and he began to throw anything he could get his hands on out the entryway. Your eyes squeezed shut and you wrapped your arms around your knees, every part of you shaking in fear._

_You didn't understand what had happened to him. He used to be so calm, and although a bit stuck up, he was always nice. And now... You watched as he lifted up a small couch and spun, flinging it out into the softly falling rain. The sight of raindrops surprises you- you're so wrapped up in hiding that you hadn't realized it had begun to rain. This is strange for you- rain has always been your good luck sign. Maybe it meant you'd be getting out of this alive, unharmed, with the tape securely in your pocket._

_"I swear to fucking god, I'm going to tear this place down if that's what it takes to get you out here! Just give me the fucking tape back!" Another loud crash, this one close enough that you jump. There's a dull thud as your forehead connects with wood, and your eyes widden in terror. There's silence and then he's laughing. His steps are just heavy enough to make sure you know that he's coming toward you. You watch his shoes through the cracks in the wood, tears filling your eyes._

_His steps stop in front of the wall, and the first tear slips down your cheek._

_"I promise that I won't hurt you too much. You're too pretty to scar."_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

The rain taps softly against the window, the sound bringing you back to the waking world. Your face is damp from tears, and as you look around, you see that it's not even day. The room is completely dark, so you don't even know if you're at your house, or the boys'. You try to sit up, but are promptly stopped by some heavy arms. With a soft, sad laugh you cuddle into Tim and Brian's embraces. You should have known better- when was the last time you slept by yourself?

With a heavy sigh you untangle yourself from their arms and use the wall to find your way to the bathroom door. You were rubbing your eyes so you didn't notice right away that you weren't standing in the bathroom. In fact, you didn't notice until after you closed the door. The moon lit up the forest, and spun around in a circle, but the door is already gone. when you turn around again, laying on the ground in front of you is a flashlight and a piece of paper. You lean over to pick them up when a soft ringing starts up in your ears.

Without looking at the paper, you know what's going on. A glance at it confirms your fear; the note is written in childish scribbles, the words slowly blurring as the rain drips onto it. **Let's play a game** **.**

You knew that sooner or later you were going to have to do this. You were terrified of playing the Slenderman's game, but one of the conditions to you being able to stay with Tim and Brian was for you to play. With a click the flashlight turned on, illuminating the dark forest just enough for you to see what you were doing. With tentative steps, you moved forward, and you entered your worst nightmare.


	13. The Smell of Rain and Memories

Your worst nightmare? Not as bad as you thought it would be. It was rather peaceful walking around the forest. It was quiet, and you were actually feeling pretty confident in your scavenger hunting skills. At least, until you saw the flash of white in the trees; then you kinda fell apart.

You ran in the opposite direction, turning the flashlight off to avoid giving your whereabouts away. This wasn't that helpful: he'd be able to find you anyway because you were screaming as you ran. You ran wildly, batting branches away from your face and trying not to trip over roots and bushes. Soon, though, your burst of adrenaline begins to fade, and you're left leaning against a tree, every bit of you shaking. You close your eyes and cover your face, not wanting to face the truth.

But you know, you know what's going to happen to you. You've known ever since you've talked to the Slender man about his 'conditions'.

He told you that if you failed, there'd be no more going back.

You would be dead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your watch is laying on Tim's dresser back at the house, but if you had to guess, you'd say it,s been at least an hour, but not quite an hour and a half. You haven't found the second note yet, and you've got this feeling that you're being watched... But you know better than to look behind you.

You continue on through the forest and almost fall on your face as you reach a clearing. You shouldn't be surprised at the house that's just sitting in the middle of the forest. After all, there's a burnt down hospital out here too. You turn your flashlight back on and run over to the building, looking for a door. Instead, you find just a doorway that you enter hesitantly.

The inside of the building is like a maze, complete with dead-ended, tile-walled halls and a significant lack of windows. You look cautiously around each corner before preceding, and finialy, just as you become lost within the building, you find the second note. And you are not amused by the child like scrawl that takes up the crisp sheet.  _You can't run. Hide._  


The paper crinkles as you clench your hands into fists as a sudden anger washes over you in long waves. The sudden desire to find Slenderman and beat the holy hell out of him was almost overpowering, but you managed to breathe through it, and the world slowly faded back to normal colors.

You tuck the sheet into your pocket and slowly backtrack out of the building and head toward a large set up of oil tankers. Weaving in and out of the rows earns you another note; this one, however, looks different. The words are neater, the paper cleaner.  _Don't play his game. Stay away._ You look the paper over furiously, but it bears little resemblance to the other two notes you've collected thus far. You don't care to figure it out right now; the feeling of being watched is getting worse, and you make a run for the trees.

Running through the trees takes you back to when you were running from Alex, desperate to get a small, simple tape to the police. It never made it that far, and running like this, now, brings a rising sense of fear that you try to swallow back. Images fly past your eyes as you run, and then your back in the wall of the storage building. You're back to being... Helpless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_He starts tearing boards off the wall a few feet away from you, checking behind each segment. Alex is determined to get you; and he's close to your piece of bidding space._

_"If you come out now, I promise I won't touch you. I'll let you go home. I just want my tape back." His voice is soft, but his actions are deliberate and vicious as he breaks the walls down. You know that your only chance is to make a break for it, before he reaches your space._

_You nudge the board to the side, turning it sideways so that you look out. You cautiously peek out, looking for Alex. He's preoccupied and doesn't seem to notice, so you slowly begin to squeeze out of the small hole, wiggling and turning until your hips slip through. To stay out of his sight, you crawl across the dust and dirt covered floor._

_You're almost at the doorway, almost to the rain, when something drops onto your back and presses you into the floor. You look up at the man who's standing over you, his foot on your back, and a deep set anger radiating off him..._


	14. End of An Era

WARNING- IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THE TOPIC OF RAPE FOR ANY REASON, SKIP THE OPENING SECTION OF THIS CHAPTER. GO STRAIGHT TO THE SECOND HALF. RAPE IS NOT ACTUALLY DEPICTED, BUT THIS CHAPTER AS WELL AS THE NEXT WILL BE HEAVILY FILLED WITH NON-CONSENTED ACTIONS. PLEASE READ CAUTIOUSLY IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO SUCH THINGS.  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You're almost at the doorway, almost to the rain, when something drops onto your back and presses you into the floor. You look up at the man who's standing over you, his foot on your back, and a deep set anger radiating off him. "I told you... To just come out." Alex drops down onto you, straddling your hips and pinning you face down. You struggle under his weight, trying to at least turn over. You feel vulnerable, defenseless with him on you.

His hand closes around the back of your neck, and a spike of fear rushes through you... Until you realize he isn't chocking you. His hand is firm, holding you down, and he shifts over you, leaning down so he can whisper in your ear. "Where's my tape, (Name)? Or am I going to have to strip you down for it?"

You bite your lip to still it's quivering before you answer. "M-my f-f-front pocket." To your shame, your voice sounds shaky, and you can't hide that you're close to tears. You curse yourself for being so weak, for giving up like this. You gave it your best try; and for it, you now have a twisted ankle and a broken wrist. There was nothing more for it. You failed, and you probably weren't going to live to regret it.

Alex reaches hand around your hip and pulls the small tape from your front pocket. "See? Was that so hard, (Name)?" He pockets the tape before running his fingers roughly through your (length/shade) hair. His voice drops slightly as he continues, his lips brushing your ear, "You know something... You are so... Pretty. I'd love to see what's underneath all these clothes."

You freeze, unable to move or speak. He wouldn't... Alex is many things, but he wouldn't... Touch me. You thought silently, your body trembling as he starts to prove you wrong. He slips his hand from your hair down your back, straightening up as he does. He leaves his one hand on your neck, the other traveling lower. As he reaches the edge of your shirt, you come back to life, struggling fiercely. You push up from the floor, trying to knock him off; instead, he guys you across your head, knocking you out cold.

\------------

When you wake, it's to find yourself laying on your back, your hands tied to the leg of a couch. Your heart sinks as you realize you're still in the shack in the forest, and your hands are tied with a belt. You look around after deciding that the knots are too elaborate for you to handle. Your clothes are still in place, and you can't find Alex anywhere. "Hello?"

"Finally. I'm glad you woke up. I was worried I may have hit you too hard." Alex steps back into the building and you flinch back into the couch, your legs curling up to your chest. "I wouldn't want to start without you fully conscious." There it was- your worst fear confirmed. Alex was not the same guy he once was, and he did intend to violate you. The tears that stream down your face are unavoidable; you don't even give a damn that you're being weak anymore. Not now.

"Don't cry. I really hate when girls cry." He sat down on his heels in front of you, a fake sympathetic look on his dark face. "I told you that I wouldn't hurt you if you would've just given me the tape. That's all I wanted."

He reached his hand out and cupped your face roughly. "I always thought you were prettier than Amy, but you're younger. Too young. I guess it doesn't matter now, though." His free hand tugs at your collar, his fingers slipping between the buttons of the (color) shirt. His eyes info us slightly as he starts to undo the buttons. With a sudden burst of anger and frustration, you lift your foot from the floor and kick Alex in the nose, a resounding crack echoing through the room.

You watch with wide eyes as he reels back, his hands covering his face with a gasp. Your anger and frustration quickly drain away, leaving you wide-eyed and disbelieving. You kicked him. YOU kicked ALEX KRALIE in the face.

You were going to die.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The black of the night sky is receding into the orange and pink of the sunrise, bathing you in warmth as you continue to walk through the forest. You've found two more notes, and each is getting more personal. Tacked to the wall of a tunnel you found the note saying "Did you take your meds today?" Another was found tacked to a tree in the middle of a wide clearing, this time stating that "No one escapes".

The rising sun has finally turned the sky to a pale blue, and the sense of being followed has... Disappeared. 'No... Something's wrong here.' You thought to yourself, a nervousness taking hold of you. As you continued on your way, you couldn't find a single note. By the time the sun hard fully risen, you were frustrated beyond compare. "What the hell, Slenderman?!"

You took another step forward, but something wrapped itself around your ankle, causing you to face plant into the floorboards. This takes a moment for you to comprehend, and when you do, you push yourself upward and look around. Tim and Brian's bedroom.

You're back at the house. But how?


	15. How Not To Remember Your Sucky Past

AGAIN, THIS IS A WARNING FOR RAPE RELATED CONTENT. IT CAN BE FOUND IN THE MIDDLE SEGMENT. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THIS TYPE OF CONTENT, PLEASE, PLEASE SKIP IT. AGAIN, THIS IS A WARNING.

You're back at the house. But how?

Unfortunately, your face plant has woken Tim and Brian up. The two jolt upward, hair mussed from sleep and eyes blurry. Tim scrubs a hand down his face, pushing the blankets back. "(Name)? Are you okay?"

It takes you a moment to reply, and by then Tim has helped you to your feet. "Y-yeah... I just tripped." You glance down at your exposed feet covered in dirt and leaves. Your legs are stained all the way up to your knees, and the hem of your nightgown is torn. One of your legs is bleeding down the side, a thin trail that's smeared across the floorboards. You can feel bruises on your arm starting to bloom as Tim rubs his hands over them, and you're extremely exhausted. Neither of the boys are awake enough to notice this, however, and you quickly grab your clothes for the day. "I-I'm going to take a shower."

You rush into the bathroom, your heart pounding quickly. You look in the mirror, confused and unfocused. The lack of sleep is getting you hard, and unlike Tim and Brian, you don't have any meds for it. Your (color) eyes are rimmed in red from your night in the forest, and you can see that you're physically shaking. Your hair has a leaf sticking out of a (length) tuff at the top, and you remove it with unsteady hands. Tears spill from your eyes from the frustration, and you turn the water on while you can still see straight.

Did you pass? Did you fail? Why did he return you to the house? Why was there only three notes? You can't keep up with your mind as it sorts quickly through unanswered questions. It's part of your "condition". You sigh softly. If you did survive, you'd have to explain it to the boys. It was a serious part of your life, something that only Angie really knew about.

You strip down and turn to hop into the water, catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You look even worse with your clothes off. You can see a bruise three fist long across your ribs, probably achieved while running from Slenderman. You lean against the wall of the shower, shaking less now, but feeling weaker. The Game was taking a lot out of you... But you had to win. For Tim, for Brian, but mainly for you. As you let the water wash over you, your thoughts inevitably slip back to that night once more, and you relive your last moments of fear and panic in Alex's hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You... Little bitch." Alex pulls his hand away from his broken nose. The bridge is cracked, tilting dramaticly to the left, his face stained red. He glares daggers down at you, a burning in his eyes. A mixture of hate and lust pours off him as he grabs your ankles with quick hands and pins them down with her knees. "If that hadn't hurt so much, I would've called that sexy. Amy didn't fight like you do."

The heaviness in his voice makes you want to gag, and you try to roll over, try to knock him off. He's got you pinned down tightly, and your panic starts to come back, making your throat close up. Your breathing picks up in short, sharp pants as Alex uses his now free hands to undo the buttons on your pants, tugging them down slowly. His eyes stay fixed on yours, heated as he watches you panic. "Please, Alex! Don't! Please!!" 

Your voice is high as you continue to beg and plead, and Alex simply laughs at you, his breath coming quicker. He was enjoying watching you struggle and fight, and every tear you shed just increased his desire.

"Don't worry, (Name)... I said before. I won t hurt you too much... You're too pretty to break entirely." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pounding on the door yanks you from the horror of your memories, and you startle back into reality. "(Name)?! Are you okay?! Why did you lock the door?!" Brian's voice pierces the sound of the shower and the fan, and you give a shaky with before answering. 

"Sorry, Brian! I was spacing! I didn't mean to lock it." You hear a short laugh from outside the door, and then some conversing between Tim and Brian. When Brian replies, you hear the bedroom door click shut.

"Okay, as long as you didn't drown yourself. Tim and I are going grocery shopping and were wondering if you wanted us to pick up some more clothes from your house?" You consider this for a moment as you shut the now cold water off.

"Actually, I think I'll go home tonight. I haven't seen Angie in a couple days." You pick up a towel from the rack and start to rub yourself down. There's a short pause before Brian answers you back, a noticeably disappointed tone in his voice.

"Well... Okay. You want a ride back then?" You can tell that he's hoping you'll reconsider, but you just have a.... Feeling. A feeling that you need to go home. It's not quite a worry... Just a knowing. That you need to be there, that something's going to happen there.

"Yeah, that sounds great actually. Give me like ten minutes so I can get my clothes on." You lean over and unlock the door, not wanting Brian to keep worrying. Even though it isn't prominent, you could hear the underlying worry in his voice about what you may be doing. You've never locked them out before.

"U-uh, s-sounds, uh, good." Brian clears his throat, his voice cracking slightly as he answers you. You're puzzled by his reaction, but shrug it off. Tim had most likely texted him something inappropriate, as always. You flick the small speaker on the counter to life, pressing play. Stone Temple Pilots is on playing Brian's current favorite, "Black Heart". You start to sing along as you pull your underclothes on.

"The color is all but faded, out of the dead man's eyes! Down to his blackened heart!" Your eyes are closed, and you're dancing a bit. It's not your kind of music, but you had to admit it was good. As you're dancing, a set of arms wraps around you. 

You yelp sharply, but Brian turns you around, pinning you between himself and the sink. He changes the music, his eyes fixed on yours, much the same way that Alex's had been. Instead of making you feel as though you wanted to disappear, Brian's eyes made you feel seen, wanted even. Because he did want you.

He finally let's the iPod sink back down to the counter as a new song starts. You vaguely recognize it as a Jeffree Star song, but you couldn't for the life of you name it. Not with Brian looking you over as though he wanted to drown in you.

His voice is low, closer to the gravelly one of Tim than to his own usually smooth, melodious timber. "I want you. Now. But I won't touch you until you say you want me to. So please say you do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two chapters in one day! Consider this an apology for my lack of activity.


	16. When Life Gives You Lemons, Throw Them At Your Enemies

“I want you. Now. But I won’t touch you until you say you want me to. So please say you do.” His words send a shiver of shocked excitement down your back as they register. You flush dark and look away quickly before nodding in the affirmative. Brian’s hand darts out and grips your chin tightly, forcing you to meet his eyes.

“I said  _say it,_  (Name). I want to hear you say that you want me, here, now.” His voice is soft as he tilts you (skin shade) face back. You find that your hands are shaking as you place them on his shoulders, and your breath catches as he leans into your touch, as his forehead touches yours. “Say it.”

“I-I-I want y-you. Please.” He gives a soft chuckle before releasing your face, his hands trailing lightly down your neck, your arms, then circling around to your lower back. His butterfly light touch leaves a trail of fire in its wake, and the fire sparks lightening in your brain, leaving you boneless. ‘ _And this is just from him touching me…’_

“Tell me… what you’d like for me to do to you.” Your eyes shoot open and meet his, which gaze back at you dark and possessive. Your face burns as you glance away. He couldn’t possibly mean that… “Tell me.”

As you try to think of a response, you find that your voice has failed you. You can’t give him an answer, but he doesn’t wait for one, anyway, his mouth coming down on your own, rough and demanding. So demanding that it surprises you; you had assumed based off Brian’s previously gentle treatment of you and Tim’s straight up gruffness that Tim was the rough one. It seemed to you now- as Brian’s nails scrapped your hips, as he lifted you into his arms- that Brian was really the rough one. His tongue flicked into your mouth, and soon you had to part for air. His lips trailed down your throat and he murmured- Something.

“Wha-what?” His tongue traces the column of your throat, but when he spoke, the voice was not his.

_“I said, wake up, deary.”_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_In the aftermath of Alex’s brutal violation, you couldn’t find the strength to move. He had untied your hands, covered you with a blanket, and left you there. On his way out the door, he’d stopped to look at you, dead-eyed and shivering on the cold, wet cement floor. He had smiled, a remorseless, satisfied, sick smile, and said, in a simple, unaffected voice, “I did tell you. All I wanted was my tape, (Name). This is on you.”_

_That was how the search team had found you, a whole day later; in a water logged old shack, a blanket barely concealing your torn and bloody clothes, clothes that Alex had torn to pieces. Even after you were rushed to the hospital, you couldn’t find it in you to care; when the police asked you who had… raped you, all you did was shake your head. They asked how you had gotten all the way out there. You shrugged. They asked if you had seen your attacker. You didn’t answer. Nor did you answer any more of their questions._

_If it hadn’t been for a certain occurrence that night, you most certainly would still be in a catatonic state, or worse, dead. But instead, somebody visited you, and their visit was a slap in the face, a sharp awakening that brought you back to the surface. Your visitor?_

_He had no eyes._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I said, wake up, deary.” While it wasn’t Brian’s voice, the voice was intensely familiar, and it had the effect of a bucket of ice water being dumped down your spine. It’s rich British tones both freeze you in a panicked memory and bring you back from your waking dream.

You were face down on the forest floor, bleeding from a slit in your forehead. A hand, sheathed in soft leather, was tapping your shoulder erratically. “Are you alive? Brian and Tim would murder me if I let you fail, so you should consider  _waking up._ ”

A groan slips from your throat as you push yourself up on sore arms. A quick glance shows your (skin shade) arms are grass stained and scraped from your fall, and judging by the pain in your legs, they were probably the same. You take a shaky but deep breath before looking up at the boy in front of you.

In this case, “boy” was a relative term, as he was several years older than you, and you yourself were almost an adult. Even through his loose black hoodie, you can see his defined musculature, the hard angles of his rail thin form. His jeans are faded from wear and stitched neatly where they’ve been torn and sliced. The only piece of his outfit that appeared to be new were his boots, black and shiny next to your face, laces bound tightly to keep them from rubbing his ankles raw. Despite his well-cared for clothing, you could tell the only thing he really cared for was the blue and black mask that he balanced on his forehead. Your eyes tilted to skip his face, but invariably fell upon it. His eyeless face, even from the beginning, reminded you of a shark, with his grey skin and razor teeth. He was all angles with his sharp cheekbones, his high-bridged and narrow nose, his tilted, bleeding eye sockets; even his jaw was narrow. His hair poked out from beneath his mask, and it gave you the impression of silken fire with it’s short, spikey points of red-orange.

‘Good, you’re awake. You still have five pages to find, deary.”

And just like that, Eyeless Jack was back in your life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO FREAKING SORRY, LOVELIES. I'M BACK AND WRITING, I SWEAR.


	17. 17. Intermission. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author- An apology is needed. I am so sorry!!

You have all been patiently waiting.  
Your patience shall be rewarded. This, the first week of the new year, shall see two new chapters!  
Thank you all for sticking with this! It means so much to me that you enjoy it, and I promise, no, I swear to update!!

 

-Edit-

_**This is a notice that I will be rewriting the previous chapters. A small update to each of them in an attempt to fox my younger self's inconsistent writing. It should be a quick reboot, and even better, it will get me ready to start writing again for this! Stay tuned. This weekend is update central.** _


	18. Soul For Sale

_ Hospitals were always your least favourite place to be. The constant beeping of machines that monitored your vitals drove you up the wall. You would become jittery and agitated, refusing to look people in the eyes. Now, you couldn't care less as you laid in the bed, a pen in your hand as you doodled on your arm's cast. There was a hollowness in your chest that made everything seem less substantial. Nothing was affecting you the way it should have. Your parents had become increasingly worried about you during your stay. You still refused to tell them anything about what had happened. You took the medicine the doctors gave you, but said nothing to them. Compliant but quiet. _

 

_ “ _ **_Um. I-I really like your cast. It looks so cool.”_ ** _ You looked up, slightly dazed, at the girl in the bed next to yours. She had a sweet face, with curly blonde hair and braces on her happy smile. Her leg was suspended in its own cast, which was covered in purple and black spirals and flowers. If you were being honest, it was a beautiful pattern. She had tried to talk to you shortly after you were admitted, but until now you hadn't paid her any real attention. _

 

_ You melted a bit inside, sighing as went back to your careful tracing. You could almost hear the disappointment as she slumped back into her pillows. “ _ **_...Thanks. yours is pretty cool too.”_ **

 

_ The girl perked back up as you looked back up at her, grinning slightly. The two of you spent the rest of the evening chatting, and you came to know her. Her name was Marjorie, and she had broken her leg during gymnastics practice. She was two years younger than you. She took art classes and was in charge of doing murals for her high school. By the time the call for lights out came, you had managed to make her smile quite a bit more than she had been. But your carefully carved grin quickly slipped from your mouth as she drifted to sleep. _

 

_ Then, it was just you and the darkness of the room around you. The door and windows were shut tightly, and the lights from the machines barely lit up the area around your bed. It wasn't too long until your eyes had adjusted enough that you could make out the shape of chairs and cabinets in the room. Your eyes focused on the one where you know they kept the medications for you and Marjorie. If your hunch was right, there would be several bottles of painkillers.  _

 

_ Just as you threw back the blankets and managed to get up, a loud scratching filled the silent room, making you jump. You glanced around frantically as it got louder. Then, you felt the breeze ruffle through your hair and relaxed. The window was open. You made a few steps toward it to close it when you stopped still, your blood turning to ice in your veins. The nurse had locked the window. _

 

_ You very slowly scanned the room before you saw him. He was crouched in the corner, his chest moving fast like he'd been running, although you couldn't hear his breathing at all. His head was down, the hood of his jacket pulled up to hide as much as possible from view. You stayed quiet, simply looking at him. After a moment, he rose, almost eerily silent, his face still turned to the ground. You took a step forward, swallowing around the sudden lump in your throat.  _

 

_ His head whipped up so fast that you let out a slight squeak, jolting back. His face was entirely covered by a blue mask. There were disturbing trails of black dribbling down from the dark eyeholes, the thick liquid dripping down to the floor. The two of you stood there, stock still, examining each other. He was taller than you by a good four or five inches, and you had no doubt he'd be stronger than you, despite the rail thin form he seemed to have. You tensed up slightly, ready to run if you needed to.  _

 

_ You blinked, and suddenly he was right in front of you, leaning down so your eyes were level. You opened your mouth to scream, but he covered your mouth with one hand and cupped your neck with the other to hold you still. He tilted his head to the side and slowly uncovered your mouth. You stayed still and quiet as his fingers traced the outline of your face before you heard a snicker. “ _ **_Time for you to go to sleep, luv. I'm not here for you._ ** _ ’’  _

 

_ He released your face to lift his mask slightly, breathing out around your mouth. As you breathed in, your head got foggy and you smelled something sweet. He caught you as you started to fall, your sight blacking out. _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

“You're real?”

 

Jack scoffed and nudged your side with his boot. “Get up, (Name).” 

 

You pushed angrily at his leg, forcing yourself to your feet. The hem on your dress hung tattered around your knees. Night dew had left your clothes wet in patches, and the snickering serial killer was eyeing them, his black tongue flicking out to lick at his lips. You shivered slightly and looked off to the side. “I thought you were a hallucination.”

 

“Not even close, butterfly. Your boys were worried. They know Slenderman likes to play dirty during these games. And he certainly doesn't like you. You need to hurry, luv. You have three hours.” Your blood ran cold for a second before you shut out the panic. Three hours. How long had you been asleep? You felt your anger surge as you met the eye of your waker. He shivered slightly, his razor teeth revealed as he smiled at you and laughed.

 

“That's what I like to see. Get angry, darling. Get angry and win. I'll be seeing you.” He gave you an exaggerated bow before grabbing your arm and pulling you in close. His lips brushed your neck and cheek as he grazed them up before you managed to push him off, annoyance displayed on your face. He chuckled again before winking, “It was worth the try. Your boys are lucky.”

  
He turned and slipped away, disappearing in the dark grove of trees. You closed your eyes, clenching your fists for a moment before opening them, letting the frustration and rage go, leaving just determination. You gazed around you before rushing out of the little clearing and back into the trees.


	19. Swept Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guess who isn't dead?

Five pages in three hours in a three mile section of forest.

The odds were against you, and you spent five of your precious moments freaking the hell out before calming down enough to rationally think. You took into account everything you knew about Slenderman and everything Tim and Brian might know about you, which ultimately would be things that Slenderman knew. He would have planted the notes in places that you wouldn't normally think of, places out of your direct sight. 

Out of your sight. 

You suppressed an aggravated sigh as you tilted your head up and saw one dangling from a tree branch about six feet above you. The scribble on it read “Watch Your Step.” For Christ's-- 

You quickly looked around, scavenging for a long, broken branch to reach it with. There was no low branches for you to climb, so you didn't have any other choice. You finally found a long, thin branch almost as tall as you were, just light enough for you to use it the knock the page free. You could hear it shred as you slapped at it, and then it floated down to your feet, landing face down. Across the back was a crude drawing of a building with an arrow pointing inside. “Here” was inscribed in all capitals next to it. There was no doubt in your mind that you shouldn't go in whatever this building was, but you knew you had to. Tucking your new page into your gown’s pocket, you took off into the woods. 

It didn't take long for you to find the red building. You were pretty sure it was some kind of abandoned mid forest rest stop, but there was far too many halls and labyrinthine twists for it to be that. Regardless of what it was, you managed to make it to the very center, where a single note was pinned to the dead end. Without looking at the taunt, you ripped it free and shoved it into your pocket alongside the others. The feeling of eyes on your back was back, but you forced it from your mind as some kind of rage took over you. He wanted to fuck with you, taunt you into giving in and letting him take your life? Take you away from Tim and Brian?

 NEVER. 

Three more pages. Just three. 

You came across a patch of oil tankers (why the hell they were in the middle of the woods, you had no clue. In fact, you really didn't care) and found another note taped to the side of one near the center. You didn't even stop to properly pull it free, merely snatched it up and kept running. Your entire body was burning by now, aching and begging you to stop. You kept on going. 

A truck, broken and overrun with weeds and vines that seemed to spring out of nowhere, had a page tapped over the steering wheel. You had no choice but to read this one as you ripped it free. “You Will Fail.” There was tiny sketches of trees and x’s, and a single “Why?” across the back. 

One more. 

You had less than an hour. The sky was beginning to get lighter, and as it did, the rage that had kept you running began to fade. Your whole body was shaking, your thoughts racing, and your pocket was missing just one note. You realized, slowly, that you were beginning to retrace your steps, covering ground you'd been through. On a hunch, you veered to the left, heading back to the center clearing with the big trees. 

You paced the ground, your feet bleeding and bruised, your adrenaline high, and tried to keep up with your thoughts. Where you'd been, if you looked everywhere there, if you had checked above you and below you. 

Above and below you. 

Your head whipped back. Pinned to a branch high above you, nearly thirty feet in the air. There. Your last note. Thirty feet above you, pinned to a tree that was so smooth, you doubted you could climb it, even if you knew how. The tree next to it, however… 

You looked up again. Yes. Yes, that could work. There was a branch near enough to the other one that you could reach out and just touch it. And this tree was so covered it was practically a ladder. 

Half an hour. The sky is a grey blue, beginning to turn the light blue that signified morning. 

You climb as fast as you can, your hands and legs scraping over bark and what appears to be- fuck!- thorns. They tear at your clothing, growing to almost three inches in length. What the hell kind of tree was this anyway?? You pushed it from your mind, racing the sun. From the corner of your eye, you swear you can see the shadow of… 

You reach the branch you had been eyeing from the ground, but with a single hitch: you were way too far to reach the page. It had to be at least ten feet away. The sun was almost up, and you could see the glimmer of light breaching the horizon. And then, you did something incredibly stupid. The impending end pushed you to follow your impulsive mind into what was likely going to be remembered in the top five stupid things that (Name) had ever done. 

You took a few steps back, ran a few forward, and threw yourself off the branch. Your fingers touched the note, ripping it free as you fell. You closed your eyes tight, holding the page as the sun’s first rays touched the tops of the trees. There was a glimmer of warmth across your cold body, and time seemed to stand still as the air whipped past you, weaving through your (length) hair as you opened your eyes. Then time hit again, and you were freefalling. You could feel the ground closing in and then- 

“Oof!” It wasn't the ground, but it still hurt. Your blood ran cold as you felt the tentacle wrap firmly around your waist. You slowly rose through the air until you were at eye level with the creature who had put you through this “game”. 

“That… was incredibly reckless.” It's voice echoed through your head, soft and thoughtful in an odd way. “But it worked.” 

“Does the fact I'm still alive mean I won?” 

“If you want to call it winning.” Keeping a firm hold on you, the Slenderman started to make his way slowly back toward the house. He was silent for a moment, and you got the feeling that he was choosing the right words to continue with. “You have a choice now. You know that.” 

You took a moment before you nodded. He had told you this before. In the case that you won, you had two options: the option to forget or the option to become like them. You'd be given a permanent place among them, you'd train with them and do the things they do… whatever those were. If you chose to forget, then Tim and Brian would be lost to you forever. You'd never have another chance at the kind of love they gave you so freely. But if you chose to join them, then… you'd lose an important piece of yourself. Slenderman hadn't explained what that piece was. 

“What… do you think I should do?” You impulsively ask the creature carrying you. His gait stutters for a moment as he takes in your question, surprise rolling off his skin. 

“I would always recommend forgetting. This isn't a life. It's barely an existence.”

  
The cold finality in those words makes you hesitate for another minute. But in the end, you always knew what you'd chose. And as the house came into view, you looked up at it and said softly, “I will never leave them. I want to stay.” 


End file.
